1. Field of the Invention
The invention is generally related to customer relations and management communication systems and is more specifically directed to a method for the enforced delivery of messages to customer subscribers and users of an Internet Service or transport service provider.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Over the next several years in the U.S., 85 million new users will start using the Internet and 77% of U.S. households will be connected to the Web. Clearly, the Internet market will continue to grow in existing and altogether new ways. The Internet is now a critical part of our communications options. Innovation will continue to be a major factor associated with the Internet as enterprising companies find new ways to offer faster, more expanded services ranging from access, security, quality and class of services, as well as content offerings. No matter what these expanded services or applications turn out to be, the rapid adoption of Internet use will continue to increase and that increase will have profound effects on the providers who support these millions of users.
Currently, the providers that physically connect subscribers to the Internet are very limited in their ability to communicate back to their subscriber base. If a provider wants to communicate with customers about planned outages or problems, viruses being broadcast from the subscriber PCs, billing issues, or emergency information, the provider is limited to some very unreliable approaches such as phone calls, e-mails, or bulletins in monthly billing statements. None of these approaches offer assured timely delivery, and most require a great deal of effort with uncertain results. Today, the common method used to notify the subscriber is to let the subscriber discover the particular problem and then contact the provider for assistance and information. Unlike cable television wherein the cable company can force “crawlers” and other informational communication to the viewer's television screen, the Internet service provider must rely upon the subscriber to voluntarily and manually access the informational Web pages that relate to the subscriber's system. The subscribers of the provider may not use or reveal other services that might have been useful such as their use of e-mail or even their e-mail addresses. The other customer relations communication channel used by the provider is the accompanying flier that is mailed with the monthly bill. These channels are unreliable and not timely for much of the communication that the provider could utilize that would substantially reduce the cost of supporting the subscriber base. A simple example is enforced notification of scheduled system “down time” due to maintenance. Virtually all subscribers who are notified of an upcoming service interruption will not place the support telephone calls that typically inundate the provider support facilities under such circumstances.
Due to the ever growing Internet user population, a solution that could avoid these calls would not only greatly reduce the unnecessary call volume being placed on provider call support centers, but would also help improve customer confidence, leading to better customer loyalty and retention.
Enforced delivery of messages has been available with auxiliary client software components such as enrollment and use of an “Instant Messaging” system as offered by AOL and Microsoft. Enforced delivery of messages has also been available with auxiliary client software components associated with certain provider authentication protocols. In all cases, the software becomes machine, operating system, and operating system version dependent, must be installed by the subscriber or user, and the installation must be supported by the provider.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,332, entitled: MANDATORY MESSAGE DISPLAY AND REPORTING SYSTEM, issued to C. M. Brewer on Nov. 14, 2000 discloses a messaging system including a software program to be loaded on a PC that is closely linked to the PPP (“The Point-to-Point Protocol,” as defined by RFC 1661) or PPPoE (“A Method for Transmitting PPP Over Ethernet,” as defined by RFC 2516) that the Internet service provider provides. Specifically, this is “LOG-ON” software that the user must have in order to initiate and maintain service. The intent of the application is to force advertising windows on the user's screen, i.e., a mandatory display. The main components of this system are that the software must be loaded on the user PC, the window is specifically not on the Web browser, and the advertising window cannot be removed without losing the connection to the Internet service provider service.
In addition to ISP support systems, it is becoming increasingly desirable to support inter-communication between a user and a local, sub-level provider, such as an establishment or transportation provider supplying Wi-Fi connectivity for its customers or passengers. The Wi-Fi “hotspot” market is anticipated to grow to a half-million within four years. Hotspot providers have no access to their own provision channel in order to push advertisements to their users other than at sign-on time . . . that is, once per visit. The overriding problem in this phenomenon is the conflict between the exploding popularity and the lack of a way to make manage it from a cost/risk aspect. Currently, there are three ways that providers attempt to gain value from the installation of a hotspot:
Charge for the service as you use it (not popular with users) but may work for critical areas like airline clubs, captive passengers in a train or airplane, and other public access areas, where users who really need it will pay for it.
Associate a free use of the service with other products such as a DSL or cable modem home subscription.
Use the service as a way to attract customers to your store such as anticipated by chain restaurants and the like.